Lost Boy
by xTimexTurnerx
Summary: Landing in the Enchanted Forest after the curse, Killian Jones has never felt more alone. When everyone else is ready to give up, he finds himself having to step in as "the hero type" and fight for what he wants. Captain Swan.
1. Prologue

In 300 years, Killian Jones had never felt more displaced.

As the purple smoke cleared he found himself on solid land, without a ship… and without Emma. For the first time, he understood what it was to be a lost boy.

His first instinct was familiarity. That was one reason he knew he had to break off from the group—he needed to get back on the water to make sense of everything that had happened. The other reason Hook needed to leave was because being around them… the Charmings, Regina, Belle, and even Neal, reminded him of Emma and made her absence painfully obvious.

The space he had made for Emma in his heart was left an empty wound, festering from the exposure of his companions.

He overheard Snow and Charming talking to Neal, dissuading him from seeking a way back to his family, Emma and Henry. The wound burned uncomfortably. His resolve to leave the group solidified.

For people who harped on about hope, it seemed they have given up on it in their only daughter's case.

He took the borrowed horse in a daze, riding her until his knuckles were numb from grasping the reigns and his thighs ached from clinging to the steed. Night fell and Killian's waning visibility caused him to lead the horse into wrong footing more than once. He decided to rest for the rest of the night.

After making a rough lean to, Killian was able to gather his thoughts. He was able to breathe more comfortably, the burning fading to a dull, constant thud in his chest. He pulled the cork out of his flask with his teeth and drank deeply from his flask.

The way Killian saw it, there were two ways this could play out. Number one: he and his rum trekked across the Enchanted Forest, alone, and tried to find the Jolly Roger along the blasted coast line. Once he did find her (he always did), he could take back to the seas and sail until he forgot Emma, forgot about the last year of his life she took to worm her way in, and forgot him self. After Milah's death he became the master of forgetting. He could do it again.

Granted, last time he had revenge to fill the space Milah had left, and this time he wouldn't have that luxury.

He took another swig of rum and gently hit his head against the tree trunk he was sitting against, the pain making him focus.

Number two: he didn't give up. He somehow found a way to get to Emma, to get her to remember him. Although her parents seemed to have been quick to assume a reunion was an impossibility, Hook still remembered something from the "hero" types: hope.

Once even the tiniest fraction of hope about seeing Emma again entered him, he couldn't let it go. Not for the pull of the sea, the rum or the pull of adventure.

There was no choice. He was going after her.


	2. Chapter 1: Pure of Heart

**A/N: This is my first OUaT fanfic, so please let me know how I'm doing! As the narration is in third person, it will not reflect Killian's accent/ vernacular but his dialogue will. I will be filling in the gap of the missing year with occasional flashes to Emma. As of 3x14 this fic is canon! If episodes come out that make this AU, I will let you know. The first few chapters will be short, but build in word count soon. Thank you!**

**Chapter One: Pure of Heart**

Well, going after Emma. That sounded lovely in his head, didn't it? Now all he needed was a plan.

He would need magic, that's for certain. Rumplestiltskin was dead; there were no deals to be made there (not as if he would have agreed or called upon him for help either). Emma had magic within her, but she was in the bloody realm without magic, having no idea of her skillset or that she was missing anything. Tink had magic, especially now that she had her wings back, but Killian winced at the memory of their last one-on-one meeting.

His thinly veiled offer for a "drink" had a deeper, more selfish implication and they both knew it. She had called him out, telling him he was trying to forget Emma. He didn't want to hear it. Tink wasn't an option.

But perhaps the other fairies were. Blue seemed everyone to only get their happy endings. _Even villains_? The nasty voice in his head countered. He silenced it with draining the last bit of rum on his person.

"Blue," Killian whispered, staring at the brightest star in the sky.

"I'm here, Hook," she said gently. Her face looked sad.

"You have magic here?" he said, his voice growing stronger.

"I do," she agreed.

"I need to get back to Emma and her boy."

"That's not possible," she whispered. "There are no portals left in this realm, Hook. You overheard Snow and Charming, you understand the implication of undoing the curse." He punched his good hand into the ground.

"There has to be a way," he growled. "I would do anything." Blue looked distraught. It was in her nature to help, but she couldn't see a way of this possibly working.

"You said there are no portals in this realm, but other realms, they would have portals." Hook said slowly, standing up and starting to pace.

"You would need a portal to get to the other realm to get the portal," Blue said, faintly cross.

"Is there no way for the other side to open a portal to let someone through?" Hook asked, his head hurting from the mixture of alcohol and struggle to concentrate.

Blue's eyes lit up. "There is one I know of. One land that will open portals for people to travel to."

"Aye!" Killian said triumphantly. The hope flared inside of him. "What land?"

"Oz. The Pink Fairy's land. There's an object in Oz that could transport you to any realm. But there's a slight problem…" Blue trailed off, turning away from Hook's face.

"Magic always comes at a price, I'm aware. But I'm willing to pay that."

"It's not that, the portal to Oz has… restrictions on who can travel to it." She supplied hesitantly.

"Am I on another realm's bloody 'most wanted' list?" Hook muttered.

"Only the pure of heart can open the portal to Oz," Blue admitted.

"Ah," Killian said, slumping his back against the tree. "That I'm not."

"No," Blue said. "After a dark witch left their land in ruins, they cast an irreversible protection charm on the place, keeping out all who could possibly hurt the land again."

"She sounds like a right piece of work," Killian said.

"She is," Blue agreed. "I wish I could be of more assistance. I can see your desires for saving Emma are pure."

As Blue began to fly away, Hook had a sudden idea. "Wait… WAIT!" Blue flew back.

"Can only the pure of heart go through the portal or can only the pure of heart _open_ it?" he had the dangerous glint in his eye of someone who had made deals before with wording left up to interpretation.

Blue frowned. "I'm not sure. I would think open it, the way the enchantment was worded. But you would still need someone pure of heart, fairy dust and to know the pass code," Blue pointed it out.

"Can you grant me some fairy dust?" Hook asked, smirking. After Tink's refusal, he wasn't sure if fairies were immune to his charms or if he had just come off desperate in the situation.

Blue seemed hesitant. "I cannot give you fairy dust to take, but if you call my name by looking at the brightest star when you have found someone pure of heart, I will help you then with dust and the pass code."

"Fair," Hook agreed.

"Good luck, Hook." She said back.

"Killian," he corrected her. "My given name, it's Killian."

She smiled for the first time during their meeting. "I wish you well, Killian." She vanished quickly.

Pure of heart. There was one person who immediately jumped to mind and he tried to desperately come up with one, or any, other option. When after a few hours of pondering none came to him, he lay down on the ground under his meager shelter and resigned himself that he would be traveling to Rumplestiltskin's castle in the morning.

He needed to ask Belle a favor.


	3. Chapter 2: Dark and Light

**Chapter Two: Dark and Light**

The sight of the familiar castle, overrun with natural plant growth and nearly crumbling would have once filled Hook with triumph. Now, he merely sighed as he realized how much Belle had lost within the past few days and how if he were in her position, he would not be in the mood to help anyone find their happy ending.

Nonetheless, he pushed the door open. "Hello!" he called out from the entrance hall.

"Who goes there?" an all too familiar voice bellowed.

"It's Hook," Killian said. Neal revealed himself from the shadows.

"What are you doing here, come to gloat?" Neal asked. The purple under his eyes and slightly shaking hands told Hook to handle the situation with care; Neal was close to the edge.

"No mate, I've come to speak with Belle."

"Why would she talk to you?" Neal spat. "You think she's forgotten what you did to her?"

Hook felt a twinge of regret go through him, but kept his expression smooth. He was a different man then.

"You almost killed her. Leave her alone."

"I'm not here to hurt anyone, just to chat about something." Hook said evasively. "Why don't we let Belle decide whether or not she wants to talk to me, eh mate?"

Neal stared at him, and he was surprised to find hatred that he had never seen in anyone's but his own eyes.

Neal pulled out a sword and trained it on his chest. "You took my mother, and wanted to kill my father. You used me to try and figure out how to murder him. And now you want Emma. Give me one reason I shouldn't stab you right now."

"Because it won't make you feel better, mate. Trust me. I thought I would be filled when I saw that dagger go into your father's heart. But I wasn't. Filling yourself with dark instead of light is not all it's cracked up to be," Hook said honestly. He left all weapons to defend himself by his side, not trying to antagonize Neal.

At this moment, Belle entered the room. "What's going o—" she paused seeing the precarious position Hook was in. "Neal," she said calmly. "Rumple wouldn't want this. It's not his fault."

At the sound of the name 'Rumple' it was like a spell had been broken. Neal knew she was right; maybe the Dark One would have liked Neal to kill Hook; but Rumple, his father, the man, would not.

Neal dropped the sword to the ground and stepped back until the back of his legs hit an old chair and sat down. He buried his face in his hands. "I'm sorry," came a strangled voice.

"Quite all right," Hook assured and dusted off his front where the sword had rested. "I came to speak with you, Belle." She looked surprised.

"Follow me," she said quietly. She stopped walking when they reached what was once a grand library, cast now in dust and disorder.

"I need your help," Hook pleaded as she shut the door.

"How can I help _you_?"

"I know how I acted to you, before the curse, that was bad form. I apologize, milday, for all the harm I brought to you."

"I know, you've changed."

"Aye."

"Because of Emma," she added. She took Hook's silence as an affirmation.

"Aye," he repeated finally. "And I want to get her back," he said steadily, watching for Belle's reaction.

"I can understand that." She said eventually, her eyes becoming sad. "But you know what undoing this curse meant—"

"I do, but there is a portal, that can take me to another land. And in that land, I can find something that will bring me back to Emma."

"Why do you need me?"

"Because, this portal, it can only be opened by someone pure of heart. And that's you, Belle. I could see it by the way you loved him. My heart has done too much, survived too much, I can't make it work."

She smiled kindly at his words, "Thank you. If it's in my power, I will help."

Hook broke into a grin.

"But," she added. "If there is anything in this foreign land that can help with bringing back Rumple, will you give it to me?" Hook sucked in a breath.

It was quite the fair request really. She wasn't asking for anything specific, just if he found something helpful he could bring it back. Even if he did find something, he could lie. He winced at that thought. He would not lie; he would be a man of honor. Something he had tried so hard to do.

"You have my word, milady. If I find anything of use, I will return it to you." Belle grinned.

"What do you need me to do?"

"We will need the aid of the Blue Fairy. We wait until nightfall, and then call her. She will provide the fairy dust and the pass code. You only need to speak it."

Belle nodded her head in determination. "I can do that. Would you like to rest for a while? You seem tired," she added.

She was right. From the shock of being brought back to the Enchanted Forest, the decision to find Emma, and his shoddy outside shelter last night, he had barely rested.

"My thanks," Hook offered as she showed him to a small bedroom with a single bed.

"I'll wake you at nightfall," she promised and shut the heavy door behind her.

Electricity was running along Hook's skin as he lay down. The thought of seeing Emma again nearly kept him from rest again, but eventually his body won and pulled his lids down casting him into a deep sleep.

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has favorited/ followed this story! I would love some written feedback about what you like/ what you don't etc. Please review if you have a moment! CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEW EPISODE. **


	4. Chapter 3: Will and Way

**A/N: Thank you onceCSgeek98! I appreciate your review!**

**Chapter Three: Will and Way**

Emma drove towards New York City, occasionally glancing over at her son. Although they had just suffered tragedy, she could not help but feel grateful that her son, her world, was sitting in the car next to her.

Emma wasn't one to get attached to material things, so she didn't completely understand the hole she felt in her chest. She cast aside the pain the best she could, knowing she needed to be strong for Henry's sake. New York was merely the next great adventure in their story.

"Hook," he heard the feminine voice call his name and shot up thinking for one glorious moment, Emma had returned to him. Realms be damned. But that dream only existed in the world between sleep and waking.

"It's time?" He tried to keep the disappointed out of his voice.

"Yes," Belle said. "The sun has set."

Hook immediately rose and put on his discarded leather boots, following Belle down the old, stone hall.

"So—" Hook began, but Belle put her finger to her lips, indicating a wish for silence. When they had finally exited and stepped outside Belle turned back.

"I'm sorry," she said sheepishly.

"What was that about?" Hook asked. Belle faltered in her step, but kept walking toward the forest.

"I didn't want to disturb Baelfire," she said softly. Hook placed his hand on her shoulder, effectively halter her progress and turning her about face.

"Baelfire doesn't know?" His face tilted, trying to understand Belle's motives.

"He's not able to see the man beneath the hook right now," she smiled humorlessly. "With his pain, he can't see your true love for Emma. He would take it as a personal attack. I'm helping you because I see it in you. Baelfire's place is here, where we can figure out how to bring back Rumple."

Hook searched her eyes looking for a trace of deceit, when he saw none he smiled. Hook before Neverland would have made a lewd joke, taking Belle's flattery as a sign of seduction. He was a different man now.

"Many thanks," Hook said sincerely, and took a deep bow. Belle nodded and continued forward. "This is far enough."

The trees formed a circular clearing overhead, allowing the stars to shine clearly through to the spot where the pair stood. Hook closed his eyes and before he said her name out loud, the Blue Fairy was speaking.

"I have seen your wish, Killian. And I am prepared to grant it. Belle, are you will to provide aid?"

"Yes," Belle said in a steady tone.

"I will use fairy dust, and when you it working, Belle, you must click your heels together and say 'there's no place like home.' Hook, when the portal appears, step inside and let it deliver you to Oz; it will appear different than other portals you have seen, being fixed only to the land of Oz."

"What do I do when I arrive in the realm of Oz?"

"Request an audience with the Pink Fairy. Explain your purpose and tell her the Blue Fairy is a friend, it will make her more receptive." Hook had never heard of an unreceptive fairy.

"Pink Fairy, Blue Fairy—got it." Hook said.

"Yes, ready Belle?" Blue asked. Belle nodded.

Blue dropped fairy dust on Belle and Hook. Belle took a deep breath, clicked her heels together and said, "There's no place like home."

A luminescent large something had appeared, almost like a looking glass. Hook took a tentative step forward, afraid he would break the magical item.

"Step in," Blue encouraged. The second his feet were safely in the portal he was lifted from the ground. The filtered view of the Enchanted Forest took Hook's breath away.

The speed picked up, hurtling the object and its passenger through time and space. It was only when Hook began to once again slow that he could put a name to his mode of travel—a bubble.


	5. Chapter 4: Faded Splendor

**Chapter Four: Faded Splendor **

As Hook dropped towards the ground, he braced himself for impact. However, the bubble merely popped as it touched the land, leaving Hook upright and unscathed.

From what Hook had heard about the Oz realm, he was disappointed. He expected color, fantastical creatures and kind, little munchkins. The faded yellow brick beneath his feet was cracked with weeds growing through the destruction. The once spectacular fruits and vegetation were rotted and withered. Even the sky was gray and clouded, not allowing any light through.

"Hello!" Hook called out, feeling foolish standing alone. He heard a rustle from a house where the roof looked as if it grew out of the ground. Hook slid his sword out of his scabbard proactively.

A small man that reached Hook's navel came out. His hair lay limp on the sides of his hollowed face. Dirt was smudged sporadically. His clothes were ripped and frayed, but Hook could see remaining embroidery and ruined splendor.

"Why have you traveled to Oz?" The voice was disproportionately low for his stature.

"I have come to request and audience with the Pink Fairy. I have been sent by the Blue Fairy from the Enchanted Forest." Well, more like the Blue Fairy had agreed to help him travel to Oz, but hadn't lied; she _did _send him here. The devil is in the details.

"Come with me," he said, turning on his heel. They walked for a substantial amount of time in silence. Finally, they arrived in an abandoned city square. Some structures looked on the verge of collapse, while others merely looked eerie with their bleached colors and broken stained glass windows.

The brick underneath Hook's feet swirled into a spiral. They stopped when the patter twisted away into nothing.

"Glinda!" the man called out. A bubble, smaller than the one Hookk had traveled in, floated in front of the pair and popped to reveal a small pink fairy encased in some sort of huge dress. She shook out her wings and grew to full size.

"Welcome to the land of Oz, more specifically, Munchkinland." Glinda's tone was serene, but Hook saw an edge flash in her eyes. He had dealt with enough characters to recognize it.

"Thank you, milady." Hook bowed deeply, keeping up pretenses until he could figure the fairy out. "I am Killian Jones, sent from the Enchanted Forest by the hand of the Blue Fairy."

"How did you summon the portal, Captain Hook?" He was surprised by her brazen dismissal of pleasantries, but tried to conceal his shock.

"Ah, so you've heard of me then?" He put on a dashing smile.

"The tales of your wickedness has traveled across many realms, Captain." She circled him, keeping her light green eyes trained on his sword at all times.

"How wonderful. The tales of Oz's splendor have been told as well…" the sarcasm dripped from his words.

Glinda's eyes darkened. "Someone _wicked_ attempted to take Oz's magic. She managed to trap it, but not destroy it. Needless to say, we wanted to keep others like her out." The 't' was sharp and Glinda stopped circling to step close to Hook and bore into his eyes. She took her tall star wand and pressed it gently against his chest.

"Now, I'm going to ask you one more time, Captain. How did you open the portal?"

"A maid named Belle called the portal with the help of the Blue Fairy." The words spilled from Hook's mouth before he decided to say them. A warm sensation flooded through his body.

"And your purpose?"

"To obtain an object that can bring me to the land without magic."

"Why?"

"To get to Emma." Hook had no intention of saying Emma's name, especially to a fairy in a foreign realm he didn't trust.

Glinda stepped away, removing her wand from Hook's person. He felt the warmth leave. He was furious; she used magic to force his words. Before he had the change to tell her off, she cut in.

"I see your intentions, Captain, and I grant my permission for temporary visitation to Oz."

Hook stayed glaring at the woman, but stayed silent.

"On one condition."

"Isn't that always how it is?" he laughed.

"Like I said, the magic of Oz is trapped inside of an object; a crystal ball. It is left guarded in the Wicked Witch of the West's castle here, guarded by her minions incase she can ever return. I need you to seek the object, and destroy it. The magic will escape confinement and return to the land."

"And why should I do that?" Hook grimaced; he had not forgiven or forgotten the fairy's trick with the wand.

"Because the object you seek, the portal to the realm without magic, will not work in a realm where the magic is trapped. And until the magic returns, I won't tell you where the portal is," she hissed.

Hook's jaw twitched—he hated trusting her. "What's to stop you from keeping the portal once I bring back the magic?"

Glinda's faux smile tightened, she clearly wasn't planning on him pointing this out. By now, a large amount of munchkins had gathered in the square, watching the exchange with interest.

"Because she's Glinda the Good!" one shouted. The others made sounds of approval.

"Oh, my mistake. If you are so _good_," Hook leered, "then you should have no problem giving me the object now; seeing how they won't work for me anyway until I complete the quest."

Glinda's celery green eyes scanned the crowd, seeing all their expectant faces. "Of course," she said in a defeated tone. She walked over to the upside down house and tapped on it three times. It lifted off the ground just a half of a foot, enough for Glinda to slide her hand under and lift out something.

Hook craned his neck to see what could help him, and was surprised to see an ordinary pair of red slippers. "A pair of old shoes?"

"These are ruby slippers. They will glow again when magic has returned. You must put them on and click your heels together three times then chant—"

"There's no place like home?" Hook interrupted.

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," he said shrugging.

"The witch's castle lays to the west of Emerald City. You must first follow the yellow brick road there and then travel due west for about half a day. Do you understand?" Glinda said urgently.

"Yes. Quick question, if you're a fairy, why haven't you gone to get the ball yourself?"

"Because like us, the Witch put a protection spell on her castle; only the wicked are allowed entry. I may be protective of my people and land, but none reside within Oz's realm that have wickedness in them." She said. The munchkin's looked afraid of him, giving Hook wide berth.

"Until me, got it." he said hanging his head. Always the villain, eh?

"Good luck," she said and before he took one step, she had shrunk, conjured a bubble and floated away.

**A/N: And I knew it would happen, we are no longer canon here folks! I was up until episode 3X14, but Quiet Minds blew that out of the water. Thank you for the reviews! I'm so happy people are enjoying reading this because I love writing it! **


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